I've seen plenty of Instagram photos I've found as "pretty". Personally, I think the filters can be annoying, though...but it seems as if most people enjoy them.
I'm unclear on what their API would allow, but I think that there is a huge opportunity to present the important stuff on Facebook to users in a cleaner, more elegant way...we've seen so many attempts at cleaning up the inbox; I'd be interested to see someone focus on the News Feed.
It would be a credit card people apply for and can opt-in to using on these offers on Facebook (and throughout Facebook's off-site ad network, if they choose to do that.)
I'm very interested to see what happens with this. I think they've made all the right moves so far since the acquisition and I love the transparency. They're going to try to stay true to their roots while also becoming "fast and thin", in their words.
It also makes a ton of sense to have the algorithm factor in tweets, FB shares, and diggs. Nice. I don't know if it'll ultimately work, but it looks like a good start.
Yeah, the ads are definitely becoming more noticeable and there's usually one at the top of my News Feed most times I log on. I've always laughed at the people who hate Facebook changes and becoming used to it literally days later, but I think the product quality is seriously deteriorating...and that's not even mentioning their mobile offering.
Memorial Day is a day for remembering men and women who died while serving the country in the armed forces. It has nothing to do with Bradley Manning.
edited to address comment below - I know what you're saying, and those people absolutely sacrificed...but that's what Veteran's Day is for, as I understand it.
Most schools have websites with faculty emails listed... it's very easy to look them up. I like the idea for this site - but would love to see a bigger mechanism for actually getting the messages to the teachers.
My startup is called ScoopStream. It's a transient social network that brings together communities based on shared interests.
It's very focused - users may only be checked-in to one community at a time. For example: when the Bruins were making their run through the NHL playoffs, so many of my friends would post on Facebook after a goal, a win, a loss, whatever.
The thing is, not everyone on Facebook is a Bruins fan. On ScoopStream, people watching the game could check-in to the "Bruins" community, communicate with other fans (and see specifically what their friends are saying) and then check-in somewhere else.
This is V1 - have a bunch of ideas where to go with it, but we got a bunch of feedback on different concept and went through a few iterations before settling on this.
Funny timing for this - a few hours ago, I decided I needed more of a minimal word processor (although I'm not going as far to delete Word.) I stumbled across WriteMonkey (http://writemonkey.com/) and so far, I love it.
Maybe it could replace Tumblr for you, but my impression of them is that they're building a platform for "creative" people... I don't think Google will touch that anytime soon.
Is there a benefit to using the Friendster brand? Isn't it universally known as could-have-been social network? Why not just use whatever their resources are to start something fresh?
Grooveshark (http://grooveshark.com) does this very well... I started using their service and added a handful of favorites (which worked well enough for me at the time) before ultimately deciding to register.
It will take more than something "cool" to knock off Facebook - 600m users isn't fad-ish. A competitor has to have a MUCH better product and be very cool. It could happen, but Facebook is much more in the driver's seat than MySpace or Friendster ever were.
FWIW, I loved the Hardy Boys and I've turned into an avid reader... at least for a 20 year old. The books are what they are, and if you're looking for any sort of depth, you're unlikely to find it.
I think the Hardy Boys books do two things well: 1.) sell 2.) get kids interested in reading
Exactly. IIRC, Twitter went to 140 for space for an ad or something... I've been trying to find other services that aren't affiliated with Twitter who use 140 characters and have come up empty.